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Be Careful What You Wish For

Many stories share the theme Be Careful What You Wish For. It is a powerful lesson. What if you received exactly what you wanted? Would you then wish for something else or would you be content? Would you realize your request was short-sighted and unwanted in the end?

 
The Greek myth The Golden Touch teaches this lesson perfectly. Bacchus grants King Midas one wish believing his friend would be generous and noble, but the king asks that all he touches turn to gold.
 
Although disappointed in the king’s wish, Bacchus grants it. I can imagine Bacchus walking away thinking, “Be careful what you wish for, Midas!” King Midas is delighted as everything he touches turns to gold. His mind calculates the riches rather than the consequences.
 
As he sits to eat, he realizes too late his mistake as all he tries to eat and drink becomes gold. He will surely starve to death due to his foolishness. Bacchus removes the wish once King Midas learns his lesson.
 
This reminds me of a joke where the minister skips church to play golf. God gives him all holes-in-one, but he can’t tell anyone about it! 
 
How many times have I begun a sentence with the words, “If only I had…” and later realized if I had been given exactly what I wished for, I would not have experienced the journey, the challenge, the struggle, and the reward of learning through that experience. I became a better person due to the obstacle rather than allowing myself the easiest path. And in the end I had a story to tell!
 
Osborne, Mary Pope. Favorite Greek Myths. New York: Scholastic, 1985.